2010, Book 15: The Road

This time, I will be trying something new. I will be reflecting on The Road as opposed to summarizing and reviewing it.

The Road is Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel about a man and his son. They are walking through the wasteland that is the world in search of the coast, although they do not know what they will find there. It's sad, it's bleak, and it paints a very gray picture. However, I couldn't put it down and it made me think.

The whole time I was reading it, I pictured Dave and Archer. Granted, Archer would have to be a little older because I was picturing a boy around 8 or 10, but I still couldn't get my mind away from my own husband and son. If the world were ever to come to that point, my only hope would be that my children would survive. I would love to survive as well, but mostly I want my children to lead full lives. If I couldn't make it, I would hope that Dave would so that there would be a caretaker present.

I could picture Dave and Archer every step of the way through The Road , I could picture Dave protecting Archer the way "The Man" protected "The Boy." I could feel the love and commitment between the two characters the way I feel the bond between my husband and our son. It was a profoundly moving experience for me because through the sadness and the bleak picture the book provided, I was able to experience the joy created by that kind of bond.

To have two people, regardless of the relationship, feel that level of love and trust is a beautiful thing, despite the sadness of the circumstances. It made me feel like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It gives me hope that if the time came that there was very little (and maybe nothing) for most people to live for, some people could still find love and manage to live as good people.

I could not believe that I felt hope and happiness when reading such a grim tale. I would venture to guess that that was Cormac McCarthy's goal. I was thinking, as I finished the book, that it takes a gifted storyteller to accomplish doom and gloom so well, while at the same time creating such beauty.